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Wednesday, February 12, 2014

I thought I would show you a little sneak peek of a recent project I have designed for Country Threads magazine. I have used watercolour pencils to colour the design. It was so much fun! I will show you the project when it is published.... :)

Thursday, November 14, 2013

I have been very spoiled over the weekend....Hubby whisked me away to beautiful Noosa for my birthday. We stayed in a very swanky Penthouse unit at The Noosa Crest - it was just lovely. The staff presented me with a bottle of champagne and gourmet chocolate brownies on arrival. The view from the roof level of our unit was fabulous!

Our boys and their partners came and stayed one night.Here we are walking back from our morning coffee on the beachfront.(no photos of me - I always seem to be the one with the camera...)The boys cooked us a nice barbeque breakfast upstairs on the rooftop level.

Hastings StreetSaw this old car parked in town. Isn't she a beaut!

Santa must be around here somewhere.......

I think this is the Sheraton Hotel.

One of the little beaches in Noosa National Park. A glorious day to soak up the sunshine.

Noosa National Park

A pretty native flower growing alongside the walking track.We could hear lots of birds in the bushland around us. Saw a big Brush Turkey casually strutting past the tourists.

We followed the main walking track, which hugged the coastline. Just around the corner there were some big rock pools. The tide was coming in and there was the occasional big wave crashing over the top filling them with swirling, foaming sea water.It was a very relaxing weekend away.I thoroughly enjoyed myself, and was so happy to be surrounded by my family and friends who came to visit.

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

My latest craft pattern has a sweet surprise.
Can you guess what it is?
The centre of the sunflower trivet contains sweet, spicy cloves.
The heat from your teapot releases the beautiful scent.....mmm....just lovely.

Out now in newsagents, Volume 14, No 8.
Cheerio for now,
I'm off to enjoy a nice hot cup of tea!

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

My latest stitchery project is out now in Country Threads magazine.Introducing - Mr Koala.He is very sleepy as he has been eating gum leaves all night and needs to have a big sleep during the daytime.Shhh be very very quiet, we don't want to wake him.....xXxI love the setting and props the stylists have used for this shot.Gum leaves and gum nuts - of course! lol!

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Do you like my redwork Lyrebird pattern?
I have stitched this lovely lyrebird on linen and framed him in white.
I forgot to include this pattern in a previous post!
It is featured in Country Threads magazine (Vol 14, No 5) (just after my profile) :)

Monday, September 23, 2013

In the back of a drawer, I found an old packet of mixed cottage garden seeds, when I was having a tidy. It was way past its' use by date, but I thought I'd give them a go, and sprinkled the whole packet over the garden bed.Just a couple of seedlings came up....and (sadly) only one survived!Not seeing a flower like this before, (I didn't keep the seed packet), I googled 'pink cottage garden flower', and sure enough, after a bit of scrolling, there it was.- a Corn Cockle! Apparently, these are found growing among the wheat in Europe.Cheerio for now,Sandi xXx

Friday, September 6, 2013

I can't believe it!
*grinning*
That's me on the front cover of this month's Inspiring Country Threads Magazine!
I was so excited (and a little daunted) at being asked to be featured in the mag. I am so pleased with the way it turned out. :)
I would like to send out a big thank you to Danielle Tebb (Editor) for all her wonderful advice and encouragement she has given me since I've been contributing to the magazine. She is a delight to work with.
And also thanking my gorgeous friend, the very talented Sandrine Marsh of ImageInCafe Styling & Photography for the fabulous portrait shot for my profile. Sandrine has a way of making you feel at ease when taking your photo. We had lots of fun 'on location' in my garden.

Ooh, and there's my latest project (above my head) - a Lyrebird stitchery. You know, I have only ever seen a lyrebird once - very fleetingly - running across the road when on holiday in Victoria......lol!

And being Friday afternoon, I will have a little celebratory glass of something bubbly!
Cheers!
Thanking you all, dear friends and readers,

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Today I've been playing with coloured pencils in the studio. These ones are watercolour pencils, just colour in first, then with a little paintbrush dipped in water (with a little fabric medium mixed in), they magically turn into paint - lots of fun.Here is a peek at what I am working on at the moment.This new stitchery - a downloadable PDF pattern, will be available in my Etsy shop soon.

Now to get out all of my embroidery cottons and start stitching!Have a wonderful day!Cheerio,Sandi xXx

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Have you noticed anything new about my blog lately?
Yes, I've added some tabs along the top to help visitors find things more easily,

AND ......drumroll please......
My new ETSY shop - ta da!

You can buy my patterns right here!
I will be adding more and more stitchery patterns on the site.
The patterns are in PDF format, which means that my customers will be able to download and print them right away - no waiting for the postman (plus a big savings on postage costs) - great for my overseas customers! :)

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

I can't show you too much, but this is a little glimpse of what I am working on at the moment. You will just have to wait to see the whole design, (teasing, I know! (wink) I will give you a hint - the pattern will feature a cute Aussie animal.It will be featured in Country Threads magazine later on this year.Cheerio for now,Sandi x

Sunday, July 7, 2013

I don't know what sort of sunflowers these will grow into....you see they were from a bag of bird feed.
I started the seeds off in little peat pots, so they can be planted straight into the ground - pot and all.
This morning I planted them out on a sunny corner of the veggie garden and mulched with some lovely grass hay raked out from the chook pen.
Can't wait so see what flowers I will get!
Has anyone else grown the sunflowers from bird feed before? I would be interested in hearing your results.
Cheerio for now,
Sandi x

2. Combine the base ingredients in a bowl. Line your slice tray with baking paper. Tray is approx 19 x 29cm / 7 1/2 x 11 1/2 in. Tip mixture into slice tray. Press firmly with the back of a big spoon till you have a smooth and compact base.

3. Whack it in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, mix up the topping. I used limes for this recipe. Zest the limes (or lemon) first before juicing.

Combine all the topping ingredients in a bowl.

* get another spoon and lick out any remaining condensed milk out of the can while you are waiting for the base to cook - you know you want to. :)

5. Remove the tray from the oven and allow the biscuit base to cool a little. Pour the passionfruit mixture over the top. Return it to the oven to bake for a further 15 minutes.

6. Let the slice cool in the tin. Cut into portions. Store slice in a sealed container in the fridge. The passionfruit slice is best after a couple of hours in the fridge.

Serve on nanna's best flowery plates, accompany it with a nice pot of tea. Enjoy! Guaranteed to become a firm favourite.